When disaster strikes, humanitarian aid organizations often play a pivotal role in relief efforts. Communicating with affected populations is one of the many challenges these groups face during a response operation.

As many fans and supporters of Ushahidi recall, the Ushahidi−Haiti Project raised the profile of crisis mapping to a new level. It demonstrated the potential of crowdsourced maps for targeted disaster response to a broad and empowered audience and provided a useful foundational model for the international community to leverage and improve upon in advance of future emergencies.